Snow, sun, and a bungalow.

I did not post anything on Friday or Saturday, so tonight I give you two pictures.

On Friday after work, I drove to Winston Salem. I knew that the weather had been bad and that it had snowed, but I don't think it fully hit me until I was actually in Winston and saw the snow. For some reason my mind just didn't believe that there would actually be snow on the ground, but there was.

Then Saturday's high was 60 degrees. It is hard to believe that within 24 hours the weather fluctuated over 30 degrees. There's nothing quite like springtime in the South.

On Saturday I went to the Reynolda House, which is the historic house of the Reynolds family. The Reynolds family made their wealth off of tobacco, with cigarettes named Camel, Winston, and Salem. The house, though, was really the project of Katharine Smith Reynolds, the wife of businessmen R.J. Reynolds. The large, bungalow house does a wonderful job combining interior and exterior spaces - as typical of a bungalow design. There were fireplaces on the porches, and huge windows that allow the surroundings to encroach on the space indoors. The historic home has been preserved and turned into an American art museum.

Having spent a summer working at Duke Homestead, the site of Washington Duke's family house, I was quite surprised at the grandness of the Reynolda House. Granted, the success of Duke Tobacco was really due to the work of Washington Duke's son James Buchanan "Buck" Duke. Even with this in mind, the Reynolda house was much more elaborate and ornate than I ever imagined.

Pictures are not allowed of the interior of the house, and I was not satisfied with any of my efforts to get a picture of the exterior, so I give you the greenhouse. The greenhouse was closed by the time I got to it, but it matches the design of the pool house, and it was interesting to look at from the exterior. The general shape and design of the garden reminded me of the gardens of the Biltmore. The Biltmore estate is much larger and more extravagant than the Reynolda House, but there is a similar air of wealth and success in the properties. Visiting the sites makes it clear that both families are significant to the story of American history, as it takes someone of remarkable fortune to be able to construct homes of such magnitude.

I really enjoyed the surprise of the house. When going to the Biltmore, I knew to expect a building that exceeded - or at least matched - any home I had ever seen in size, embellishment, and magnificence. The Reynolda house was different; I knew I was visiting the bungalow of a successful North Carolinian. And I did visit the bungalow of a successful North Carolinian. I know now, though, that simply describing it in that manner is somewhat of an understatement.